During my recent job search Confluent was by far the most challenging and most thorough process. It consisted of a phone screen with the recruiter (who is a Confluent FTE, not a contractor), the hiring manager, 4 technical interviews with senior engineers, a discussion with VP of Engineering, and a final conversation with the hiring manager. I felt I was treated very fairly and given an adequate chance to demonstrate my skills and knowledge. Having been in the industry for several years, I found the coding exercises somewhat contrived and difficult. I struggled with them, but managed to get through them all. I should add this interview process was done 100% over the phone (Zoom).